sushimaru

This is my first trip report on flyertalk.com.

This year I had opportunities to fly JAL and ANA in First Class and thought it'll be interesting to compare their products, given that they are both based from the same country. There actually are very few set of airlines based from a same country serving international first class - apart from the mentioned two airlines, I can just think of Korean/Asiana (South Korea), Air China/China Eastern/China Southern (China not including Hong Kong), Air India/Jet Airways (India), Emirates/Etihad (UAE), and United/American (USA) but the last pair won't last long since United are fading away their First product, so I think it's quite a unique comparison.

I flew JAL in January 2017 from Narita to Jakarta, while I took the chance with ANA just a weeks ago in July 2017, from Narita to Singapore. Both of them offered exceptional experience, and each offering had a character in it. It's definitely worth comparing product in various categories to see which of the two airlines excels in what.

<Check-in at Narita>
JAL offer standard check-in counters at Narita. ANA have fortified area dedicated to First Class passengers and their highest-tier members which really does make one feel exclusive. In both cases procedures were very swift and hardly had to wait for the check-in.


Entrance to ANA F check-in counters at NRT


Inside the "fortified" zone


JAL F check-in counters at NRT

One surprise I experienced at JAL check-in process was that there were two representatives at a counter, one for handling the procedures and the other agent just to have the luggage tag hand-written and put it on my cabin luggage. Never had the luggage tag written by an agent before! The same agent also tried to escort me to the dedicated security check area but I refused politely as I had other things to be done before clearing the security.


Hand-written luggage tag!

While ANA agent was very friendly, the check-in procedures for JAL had more "wow" factor.

The winner in check-in at Narita category is: JAL

<Lounge at Narita>
Unfortunately, neither JAL nor ANA F lounges are spectacular in terms of offering. I'd say they are "good quality business class lounge". Currently a very few aircraft are fitted with First Class and most passengers who use the F lounges are the highest-tier frequent flyers who are likely to consist 90% of total users. They could be REALLY packed during peak hours.

What I like about JAL F Lounges (there are two, but I'll talk about the main one):

1) Great shower pressure with traditional Japanese ambiance
2) Good quality buffet food (especially the curry!) and fresh sushi made by professional sushi chef! (Only certain hours in a day though)
3) Comfy massage chairs


Overcrowded JAL F lounge!


Shower room toilet


Great water pressure


Sushi bar!


Random breakfast items and the quality pretty good


Famous must-try JAL Beef Curry (also available in business class lounge)


Great massage chairs!

*There is also a 10-minute massage service by therapist but the service will be discontinued after October 1st, 2017.

What I like about ANA lounges (there are two but I will judge based on the one at Satellite 4):

1) Staff actually do serve passengers with drinks/food when requested (JAL lounges are completely self-service).
2) Delicious sweets!
3) Counter-made pasta/various rice bowls/hamburgers/ramen and udon noodles available


ANA F lounge seats (sorry... but looking quite cheap for F)


Welcome drink and hot towel in lounge


Buffet corner in ANA F lounge


Appetizer buffet spread


Beautiful & tasty desserts!


Seafood rice bowl (kaisendon)


Home-made pasta in tomato sauce

While my JAL lounge experience was not too pleasant due to over-crowd, I still rate the JAL lounge higher due to food quality, better chairs (sofas) and massage chairs. While ANA lounge gets more personalized service, I didn't like their lounge chairs and could be a bit uncomfortable when sitting for longer hours, there was an absence of massage chairs and a shower room was quite normal.

The winner in lounge at Narita category is: JAL

<Onboard Seat>
In both JAL and ANA, F service is only available on their 77Ws. ANA offer more privacy with enclosed walls around each seat, while JAL offer more spacious looking seat with less privacy.


ANA F seat


ANA F seat


JAL F seat


JAL F seat

I personally preferred ANA seat simply because of more privacy offering. Before riding, I thought their seat would be too claustrophobic but it was just about the right amount of space, where as for JAL seat I thought it was a bit too wide for my liking and I didn't like the fact that I could see what neighbor was watching across the aisle. I also preferred ANA's padding more than JAL's leather cover.

The winner in seat category is: ANA

<Amenity Kit & Pajamas>
Since March, JAL have renewed their amenity kit product so I'll be comparing based on the previous product. They used to give away Loewe kit and in addition there was separate Shiseido-brand kit consisting of cleansing form, hydrating lotion, and skin cream. The latter had two versions, for men and women.


JAL's Loewe pouch and kit


Shiseido-brand kit

For the pajamas, JAL's are quite thick in fabric therefore could be quite warm to wear them in cabin.


JAL pajamas

ANA kit comes in a hard-case Samsonite pouch which I loved. Nice bright sky blue color adds to my favorite too. Inside there was super luxury "The Ginza" branded packet of cosmetics which consisted of "moisturizing emulsion", "energizing lotion", and "creamy cleansing foam". This one seemed unisex. The retail price for these "The Ginza" cosmetics is very high: I have calculated the prices of each item according to its size and the total adds up to JPY 11,665 before tax which is just above USD 100! That's so far the most expensive amenity kit ever received on a plane!


ANA Samsonite pouch


Inside the pouch (and a crew brought a nice piece of orchid just for the photo purpose )

ANA pajamas are quite thin but I like them better than JAL's as I tend to sweat in cabin while sleeping.


ANA pajamas

All in all, I personally prefer ANA over JAL for better pouch, luxury items, and comfortable pajamas.

The winner in amenity kit & pajama category is: ANA

<Food & Beverage>
Before I start, I'll simply say that JAL meal & beverage quality is over the top. I don't think any other airlines can beat the effort they put in this category (may be Air France?). While ANA also perform well, JAL are just up there. Will start with ANA.

ANA serve Krug and Jacquesson for the bubbles.


Krug

Soon after take off amuse was served.


Amuse


Dinner set-up

I decided to go for a Western course since Japanese meals didn't look too appetizing and there were items that I didn't like in the latter, such as turtle meat and foie-gras. Also, the main dish for Japanese course being just some grilled fish I thought it was a bit too typical and boring.


Kaviari Baeri Fermier brand from Paris


Lobster appetizer


Corn soup


Fresh salad


Wagyu steak


Steak accompaniment: horse-radish sauce and mustard


Nicely medium-rared


Cheese plate


Fresh fruits


Warm blueberry tart with ice cream


Maccha and bean cake


Illy's iced cappuccino!


Sea-bream and steamed rice with soup stock

All dishes were quite good, but not much of "wow" factor. Unlike JAL which is simply divine throughout.


Super luxury champagne Salon - the only airline in the world to serve this!


Famous yet not-so-easy-to-get Mori-izo shochu (whiskey made from sweet potato)


Premium Jyu-yondai sake (wine made from rice)

Just for reference, Mori-izo shochu costs about USD 120 per 720ml bottle (and that too if it can be found), and Jyu-yondai sake costs about USD 220 per 720ml bottle in Japanese retail. The menu is full of high-end beverages. You can also find the latest menu on JAL's website (and the same goes to ANA).

Here is what the full Japanese meal course is like, tied up with 3-star Michelin restaurant Ryugin in Roppongi area of Tokyo:


Bowls of Japanese appetizer - some are served warm and the rest at room temperature


Fishcake soup


Third course: Seafood platter


The main wagyu beef sukiyaki and accompaniments

The beef literally melts in your mouth. Never had such great quality beef in my life.


The beef


Trio of Japanese dessert


Western dessert option: Coconut & citrus sorbet


Udon noodles as snack

No questions asked. JAL's drinks and meal quality is THE best.

The winner in food and beverage category is JAL

<Sleeping Comfort>
Both JAL and ANA provide very high quality (and expensive!) mattress pad that costs about USD 1,000 per pad in retail. JAL provide Airweave where as ANA provide Tokyo Nishikawa made ones.


Seat after bed-making

One thing about JAL's pad is that the passenger can choose either soft or hard side, which is reversible. Usually it seems that Japanese passengers prefer hard pad where as other passengers prefer soft pad.


Soft-side


Hard-side

It was comfortable but I do prefer ANA one more, plus JAL's duvet-like blanket was too hot for the cabin.

Here is how ANA bed looks like:


ANA bed


After covering with blanket

Much better. The pad had kind of bubbles inside that felt like a massage, and very comfortable. The blanket was also thin and since the cabin temperature was not too cold this was just the right thickness. Slept very well on this one.

The winner in sleeping comfort category is: ANA

<Cabin Crew Service>
Both airlines have very polite and professional crew. However, I do prefer ANA crew more, because they are usually friendlier and can strike up some personal conversations (sometimes they ask about me and what I plan to do in the destination etc.). These never happened to me with JAL crew and they seem more formal. I find ANA crew more charming and easier to communicate with.

The winner in cabin crew service category is: ANA

<Washroom>
In both experiences crew cleaned washrooms regularly and it was always pleasant.

However, there was quite a difference in ambiance.


ANA washroom


JAL washroom

The JAL F washroom was more like Economy washroom and can be quite a contrast to ANA F washroom, which at least had hand towels, branded moisture cream, natural flowers and so on.

The winner in washroom category is: ANA

So, of the 8 categories, JAL win 3, and ANA win 5. ANA have better score but I don't want to count the washroom quality too seriously and the amenity kit is just some goodies, while JAL should be given more credit for providing top-notch quality food and beverages, so I say the result is a tie.

Choosing between JAL and ANA lies in what the passenger is ultimately interested in.

If you prefer: Comfortable lounge, open-style seating, and great meals on board, then I say choose JAL.

If you prefer: Privacy, better sleep quality, and service with more human touch, then I say choose ANA.

RandomBaritone

I love your eye for detail. And I must say, despite the fact that you preferred the JAL meal, that ANA meal looks truly exceptional.

gaobest

Great tr and pictures! Thank you.

jmj9905

I must say I disagree about the bed. I think jal has THE BEST F bed in the sky.

sushimaru

Thanks. I think after experiencing JL meal I was sort of expecting the same level. But yes, ANA meal was great too.

Thanks!

I guess you like their bed pad better.

rosensfole

A very good and informative review/comparison sushimaru. Thank you.

I haven't flown with either of these airlines yet, I must do one day. I must say I do like the look of the ANA offering over JAL. I've used the JAL first class lounge at Haneda and wasn't particularly blown away by it. I too don't like being too hot when sleeping - totally with you there.

5DMarkIIguy

I think it depends on the crew, but JAL crew can be quite chatty. They were asking about where and what I do in Japan, what´s the plan, etc... About 5 out of 10 times.
The newly hired crew will not chit chat much. They also tend to make sure everything is perfect when they set your plates. One girl was spending a minute rotating the cup to make sure the lip mark orientation is directly in front of me. It is surreal.

I agree JAL food is on another level compare to ANA.

Duke787

Great TR. I've been fortunate to fly both on TPAC flights (NH x1, JL x2) and I agree with your assessment basically on everything.

The one area of difference you didn't note is on the whisky front. NH offers Hibiki 21 in F (and 17 in J) whereas JL is 17 in F and NAS in J. I actually prefer the 17 so it's not an issue but for a whisky person, NH gets the slight advantage.

I probably have a slight preference for NH (I like the blue color scheme, the FAs seem a bit friendlier towards me as a white American vs. the JL FAs who were very professional but seemed a bit more reserved towards me,) but at the end of the day would happily fly either in J or F (actually really like JL J well with the APEX suites - though NH with the Hibiki 17 as noted above gets a big win in the alcohol category for J).

DetailsIM

My wife and I are super excited to be flying ANA first in January.

It will be a nice long flight: Roundtrip IAH - NRT.

sushimaru

Thanks for the feedback. When you have the chance, make sure to fly ex-Japan because that's where both airlines serve the best meals (but not the flight that departs at midnight from HND because they just seem to have simple breakfast service and some anytime dining light meal options).

Good to know that. May be it was just by luck. I'll see if I can find a chatty crew next time. I can understand about how everything is extremely detailed in JAL case. It's good when the cabin is empty, but when it's full, it may slow down the service speed. In this regard I find ANA balanced, not over-detailed but just about the right pace.

Good point! Yes, I agree with you about Hibiki 21 - JAL don't have in F, but ANA do. I did try out this on ANA and this is one factor where ANA should be given credit to.

JAL J is great. Again, the food is also top-notch in their J and the suite is very comfortable. Currently their latest 787-9s are fitted with reverse Herringbone with crossed leg space in the middle two seats (= more seats), so hopefully they'll maintain the current APEX suites as long as possible.

Longer sleeping time on an amazing mattress Enjoy.

Billiken

A fun read and interesting comparison/analysis.

Thank you.

sushimaru

Thanks for the comment

cockpitvisit

Thanks for a great report and pictures!

lcpteck

Wow, hope I can try out JL or NH F in the future.

txflyer77

I wonder how much longer NH will be able to offer the Hibiki 21. That's getting to be a pretty scarce whiskey.

I just hope their supply holds out through November when I fly NH F NRT-SFO.